Pro-Pot Bus Ads Launch in Maine

Cannabis legalization advocates in Portland, Maine unveiled a series of pro-pot bus ads yesterday. Next month voters in Portland will decide on a city initiative to legalize adult marijuana use. The ads, which ask voters to support Prop. 1, contend that marijuana is safer than alcohol.

"I prefer marijuana over alcohol because it doesn’t make me rowdy or reckless," says one of the advertisements. "I prefer marijuana over alcohol because it’s less toxic, so there’s no hangover," says another.

Opponents of the measure were quick to cry foul, saying that it was irresponsible to teach children about the relative dangers of alcohol and marijuana. "We are disappointed in the campaign’s aggressiveness and recklessness, especially in the message that it will be sending youth," anti-pot Portlander Joanna Morrissey told the Portland Press Herald.

The ads are funded by the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "We have these ads to spark a discussion with Portlanders about whether people should be punished ,” spokesman David Boyer told the Press Herald. The ads cost $2,500 to run.

Earlier this year, Portland activists collected over 2,500 signatures to put the proposal in front of the city council, which punted the issue to the November 5 ballot. The initiative is endorsed by the NAACP, the ACLU, Marijuana Policy Project, and other groups.